Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Bengbu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bengbu: $666 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bengbu
Learn more

Bengbu Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Bengbu

🇨🇳 China

$666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Bengbu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mexico City and in Bengbu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $666 in Bengbu.

Mexico City $1,567
Bengbu $666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,043 in Bengbu.

Mexico City $2,450
Bengbu $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,420 in Bengbu.

Mexico City $3,333
Bengbu $1,420

Living in Mexico City is roughly 135% more expensive than in Bengbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Bengbu is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$2.31 ¥15.42

365.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$10.50 ¥70.2

378.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$4.76 ¥31.80

133.19%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.15 ¥21.08

16.83%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.47 ¥3.16

251.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.25 ¥1.66

420.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$1.45 ¥9.67

128.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$2.21 ¥14.74

150.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.18 ¥14.56

-18.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.02 ¥6.82

199.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$0.72 ¥4.85

179.17%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$1.32 ¥8.82

109.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$10.42 ¥69.7

14.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$3.04 ¥20.30

206.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$9.00 ¥60.2

66.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$1.50 ¥10.03

105.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.07 ¥7.13

82.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.52 ¥10.16

33.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$0.78 ¥5.22

183.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$0.62 ¥4.16

225.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$0.63 ¥4.20

188.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.76 ¥5.09

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.43 ¥2.90

197.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$2.93 ¥19.56

79.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$6.10 ¥40.82

164.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$0.76 ¥5.11

156.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.47 ¥9.86

189.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.31 ¥2.09

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$20.48 ¥137

-3.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$1.61 ¥10.76

24.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.38 ¥2.57

39.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$9.15 ¥61.2

-38.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.29 ¥8.66

17.83%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$19.2K ¥128.4K

9.53%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$16.6K ¥111.2K

51.34%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$62.5 MX$1,155

$36.70 ¥245

70.27%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.77 MX$532

$5.39 ¥36.01

433.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$7.07 ¥47.24

387.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$41.28 ¥276

38.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$16.25 ¥109

52.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$5.99 ¥40.07

11.35%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$431 MX$7,964

$417 ¥2,788

3.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$22.1K ¥147.9K

-46.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$43.41 ¥290

63.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$33.77 ¥226

53.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$66.1 ¥442

64.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$88.5 ¥592

26.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$294 ¥1,969

257.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$181 ¥1,209

267.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$586 ¥3,920

300.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$349 ¥2,334

251.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$3,507 ¥23.4K

1.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$2,194 ¥14.7K

-9.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$668 ¥4,468

45.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

3.42

230.41%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bengbu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Bengbu

$181 27.2% 72.8% $484

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Bengbu

$168 25.2% 48% $155

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Bengbu

$85 12.8% 58.1% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Bengbu

$104 15.7% 32.6% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Bengbu

$49 7.4% 60.9% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Bengbu

$53 8% 24.4% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Bengbu

$25 3.8% 2% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $294 in Bengbu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 46% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $11.00 in Bengbu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $168 per month, with Bengbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇳 Bengbu

🕒 Local time

03:16 3:16 AM

17:16 5:16 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

3,296,408

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Bengbu 13,020 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Bengbu

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Mexico City vs Bengbu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bengbu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 135% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 46% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $294 in Bengbu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $417 in Bengbu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 92% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $666 in Bengbu versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bengbu but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Bengbu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bengbu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Bengbu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.